DOSSIER
FORMAT GUIDELINES FOR UNIVERSITY TEACHING AND ADVISING AWARDS
These
guidelines are for nomination packets for the following awards:
Note: The Academy
presents an annual dossier workshop to assist and encourage nomination. Check the calendar for this year's workshop date, place and time.
The Academy
of Teaching Excellence created these guidelines to
assist you in preparing the most effective teaching dossier and to prevent
the variances prevalent in the early history of the awards when dossiers
ranged from one page to several boxes of materials.
A
nomination dossier for these awards should consist of only the materials
requested below, and should not include any other items. Please prepare
all application materials on one side only of 8.5 x 11 inch paper, with
a type size no smaller than 10 points. Dossiers must not exceed 15 pages.
The cover/title page, which includes the table of contents, does not count
as part of the 15 pages. Appendices and attachments are included in the
page count. If a dossier exceeds 15 pages, the Award Selection Committees
will not consider the candidate for an award.
Pages
should be double-spaced and single-sided. Exceptions to the double-spaced
requirement include photocopied material, letters other than the nomination
letter, and tables. Please number all pages after the title/cover page.
A
complete dossier should contain the following items:
- Title
or Cover Page which includes a Table of Contents. Not counted toward
the 15-page limit.
- Distinctive
Contributions and Achievements. A one-page bulleted list of significant
teaching accomplishments, contributions, awards, and activities that
indicate the nominee's commitment to teaching excellence.
- Nomination
Letter. Please describe the nominee’s extraordinary success
in teaching by providing a narrative of the nominee’s background,
experience, teaching style, special contributions, other teaching award,
and any additional evidence of the nominee’s unusual achievements
in teaching. Please limit this portion to no more than three double-spaced
pages.
- Statement
of Teaching Philosophy. This should be about one page in length.
- Student
Perception of Teaching. Provide a table showing all classes taught
for a minimum of the past three years with the students’ perception
of teaching. Reduced teaching loads (sabbaticals, buy-outs, etc.) should
be clearly indicated. Any classes not evaluated also should be noted
in the table. The table should include
- the
name of each course taught,
- the
number of students in each course,
- the
number of students completing the evaluation, and
- the
student ratings. If the standard university evaluation form, Student
Perception of Teaching (SPOT), is used, the table minimally should
include scores for:
- the
overall student rating,
- success
in communicating, and
- concern
and respect for the student.
If the
SPOT form is not used, then the form used to acquire student perceptions
must be included with the dossier and will not count as part of the
15 pages. Putting student perceptions into a context is frequently
helpful. For example, it is useful to include comparisons with departmental
averages for similar courses.
-
Additional
Documentation.
Please submit no more than four pages of evidence to document the
nominee’s extraordinary teaching success. This documentation
will vary greatly from department to department, but may include summaries
of student nominations, peer or student evaluations, comments on teaching, possible increases
in numbers of undergraduate or graduate degrees given in the nominee’s
field (with clear evidence of the nominee’s substantial responsibility
for them), etc.
- Letters
of Recommendation.
Please include no more than five letters of recommendation which may
include
- Letters
from the nominee’s present or former students (strongly recommended).
- Letters
from the nominee’s colleagues (one of whom could be the department
chair if not the nominator).
- Additional
letters from anyone qualified to comment on the nominee’s extraordinary
teaching success.
- Student nominations (Sporn) may be used in place of letters of recommendation.
Please
note: Click
here for information on the University Advising
Awards.
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